As the technology of handheld electronic devices improves, various types of functionality are being combined into a single device, and the form factor of these devices is becoming smaller. These devices may have extensive processing power, virtual keyboards, wireless connectivity for cell phone and internet service, and cameras, among other things. Cameras in particular have become popular additions, but the cameras included in these devices are typically limited to taking low resolution snapshots and short video sequences. The small size, small weight, and portability requirements of these devices prevents many of the more sophisticated uses for cameras from being included. For example, they typically use a lens with a fixed focal length and fixed field of view because a zoom lens would be too heavy and require more physical depth than the body of the device permits. For these reasons, an optical zoom lens may be impractical for small and relatively inexpensive handheld devices. In other areas, consumer cameras have not been useful in bar code applications because bar codes are designed for specialized equipment. This prevents many useful applications for bar codes from being implemented.